Investing in Community Healing Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 907 To address the psychological, social, and emotional needs of racial and ethnic minorities who experience trauma associated with law enforcement vio- lence, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 8, 2021 Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. CA´RDENAS, and Ms. PRESSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To address the psychological, social, and emotional needs of racial and ethnic minorities who experience trauma associated with law enforcement violence, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Investing in Commu- 4 nity Healing Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H907.IH H907 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 907 IH (1) According to the Bureau of Justice Statis- 1 tics, African Americans are more likely to have face- 2 to-face contact with law enforcement and are 2.5 3 times more likely to experience a threat or use of 4 nonfatal force by police. 5 (2) Research shows that young men who have 6 experienced these law enforcement practices display 7 higher levels of stress, anxiety, and trauma associ- 8 ated with the interaction. 9 (3) Witnessing or experiencing invasive encoun- 10 ters with law enforcement can also be an everyday 11 stressor for racial and ethnic minorities, leading to 12 physiological and psychological strain. 13 (4) Racial and ethnic minorities face inequities 14 in accessing mental health services. 15 (5) Addressing the stigma in some communities 16 of color associated with receiving mental health serv- 17 ices and informing individuals about available treat- 18 ment can encourage better utilization of these serv- 19 ices. 20 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 21 It is the sense of the Congress that it is imperative 22 that a comprehensive public health approach to addressing 23 trauma and mental health care be focused on care delivery 24 that is culturally sensitive and competent. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H907.IH H907 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 907 IH SEC. 4. RESEARCH ON ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS ASSOCI- 1 ATED WITH INTERACTIONS WITH LAW EN- 2 FORCEMENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 4 Human Services (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 5 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Office of Mi- 6 nority Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 7 vention (established pursuant to section 1707A of the 8 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–6a)), shall 9 conduct research on the adverse health effects associated 10 with interactions with law enforcement. 11 (b) EFFECTS AMONG RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORI- 12 TIES.—The research under subsection (a) shall include re- 13 search on— 14 (1) the health consequences, both individual 15 and community-wide, of trauma related to violence 16 committed by law enforcement among racial and 17 ethnic minorities; and 18 (2) the disproportionate burden of morbidity 19 and mortality associated with such trauma. 20 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 21 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 22 (1) complete the research under this section; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H907.IH H907 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 907 IH (2) submit to the Congress a report on the find- 1 ings, conclusions, and recommendations resulting 2 from such research. 3 SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR INCREASING RACIAL AND ETHNIC MI- 4 NORITY ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY TRAUMA 5 SUPPORT SERVICES AND MENTAL HEALTH 6 CARE. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 8 Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, 9 shall award grants to eligible entities to establish or ex- 10 pand programs for the purpose of increasing racial and 11 ethnic minority access to high-quality trauma support 12 services and mental health care. 13 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To seek a grant under this 14 section, an entity shall be a community-based program or 15 organization that— 16 (1) provides culturally competent programs and 17 resources that are aligned with evidence-based prac- 18 tices for trauma-informed care; and 19 (2) has demonstrated expertise in serving com- 20 munities of color or can partner with a program that 21 has such demonstrated expertise. 22 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—As a condition on receipt of a 23 grant under this section, a grantee shall agree to use the 24 grant to increase racial and ethnic minority access to high- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H907.IH H907 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 907 IH quality trauma support services and mental health care, 1 such as by— 2 (1) establishing and maintaining community- 3 based programs providing evidence-based services in 4 trauma-informed care and culturally specific services 5 and other resources; 6 (2) developing innovative culturally specific 7 strategies and projects to enhance access to trauma- 8 informed care and resources for racial and ethnic 9 minorities who face obstacles to using more tradi- 10 tional services and resources (such as obstacles in 11 geographic access to providers, insurance coverage, 12 and access to audio and video technologies); 13 (3) working with State and local governments 14 and social service agencies to develop and enhance 15 effective strategies to provide culturally specific serv- 16 ices to racial and ethnic minorities; 17 (4) increasing communities’ capacity to provide 18 culturally specific resources and support for commu- 19 nities of color; 20 (5) working in cooperation with the community 21 to develop education and prevention strategies high- 22 lighting culturally specific issues and resources re- 23 garding racial and ethnic minorities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H907.IH H907 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 907 IH (6) providing culturally specific programs for 1 racial and ethnic minorities exposed to law enforce- 2 ment violence; and 3 (7) examining the dynamics of culture and its 4 impact on victimization and healing. 5 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec- 6 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 7 proposing to serve communities that have faced high rates 8 of community trauma, including from exposure to law en- 9 forcement violence, intergenerational poverty, civil unrest, 10 discrimination, or oppression. 11 (e) GRANT PERIOD.—The period of a grant under 12 this section shall be 4 years. 13 (f) EVALUATION.—Not later than 6 months after the 14 end of the period of all grants under this section, the Sec- 15 retary shall— 16 (1) conduct an evaluation of the programs 17 funded by a grant under this section; 18 (2) include in such evaluation an assessment of 19 the outcomes of each such program; and 20 (3) submit a report on the results of such eval- 21 uation to the Congress. 22 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 23 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 24 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H907.IH H907 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 907 IH SEC. 6. BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH 1 EDUCATION STRATEGY. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in coordina- 3 tion with advocacy and behavioral and mental health orga- 4 nizations serving racial and ethnic minority groups, de- 5 velop and implement an outreach and education strategy 6 to promote behavioral and mental health, and reduce stig- 7 ma associated with mental health conditions, among racial 8 and ethnic minorities. 9 (b) DESIGN.—The strategy under this section shall 10 be designed to— 11 (1) meet the diverse cultural and language 12 needs of racial and ethnic minority groups; 13 (2) provide information on evidence-based, cul- 14 turally and linguistically appropriate and adapted 15 interventions and treatments; 16 (3) increase awareness of symptoms of mental 17 illness among racial and ethnic minority groups; and 18 (4) ensure full participation of, and engage, 19 both consumers and community members in the de- 20 velopment and implementation of materials. 21 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 23 the Congress, and make publicly available, a report detail- 24 ing the outreach and education strategy that is developed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H907.IH H907 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 907 IH and implemented under this section and the results of 1 such implementation. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Mar 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H907.IH H907 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS